John Morris

X-Cube Flash™ - Chemistry "in a Flash"
The X-Cube Flash™ is a high temperature, high pressure continuous flow reactor, developed by ThalesNano Inc. to perform homogeneous organic synthesis. The X-Cube Flash™ is capable of 350°C and 180 bar (For reference, this compares to 250°C and 20 bar in a microwave).

Chemists can access new chemical space by working safely and conveniently at temperatures and pressures that were not easily accessible before.

See reactions go "in a Flash", saving time, materials, and effort. Analyse results faster, leading to quicker reaction optimisation. The intrinsic nature of flow chemistry means scaling up of reactions is easier. X-Cube Flash™ can be easily included in any automated laboratory set up and multiple X-Cube Flash™ (and other ThalesNano) reactors may be hooked up in series to perform multistep synthesis. Chemistry "In a Flash" is simply a better way of working.

Wide variety of reactions can be performed on the X-Cube Flash™, including:

• Newman Kwart rearrangement
• Diels-Alder
• Esterification
• Alkylation
• Diels-Alder
• Heck coupling
• Fisher indole synthesis
• Claisen rearrangement
• Super critical chemistry
• Reductive chemistry

Features
The X-Cube Flash™ is a high temperature, high pressure continuous flow reactor to perform homogeneous organic synthesis. The X-Cube Flash™ is capable of 350°C and 200 bar.

Chemists can access new chemical space by working safely and conveniently at temperatures and pressures that were not easily accessible before.

See reactions go "in a Flash", saving time, materials, and effort. Analyse results faster, leading to quicker reaction optimisation. The intrinsic nature of flow chemistry means scaling up of reactions is easier.

The high temperature, high pressure capability of the X-Cube Flash™ means that many solvents may reach to supercritical conditions. This increases reaction rates by orders of magnitude meaning reactions may progress in minutes, even in the absence of catalysts.

• A continuous flow of reaction mixture (flow rate up to 9.99ml) is pumped into the system using a single or dual HPLC pump control, or an injector. The reaction mixture is then preheated and passes into an exchangeable reaction coil.
• The reaction coil can be heated up to 350°C (662°F) and pressurised up to 200 bar (2900 psi). Reaction conditions can be monitored and changed on the fl y using the touch screen interface.
• Different size reaction coils (4ml, 8ml, 16ml) may be used to increase reaction residence time or to increase the throughput of the reaction.
• The reaction mixture is then cooled before eluting into a collection vessel.

UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC)
The X-Cube Flash™ is controlled using a software driven UMPC touch screen computer. Parameters such as pressure, temperature, reaction time, flow-rate, injection, and reaction progression can all be viewed, set, and controlled using the software.

Changeable Heater Block
The Changeable Heater Block contains the heatable and pressurable (up to 350°C and 200 bar respectively) reaction zone. Size of the loop within the reaction takes place can be changed between 4, 8 and 16ml for scale-up reactions.

System Pressure Valve & Sensor
The System Pressure Valve sets and stabilises the set pressure value between a pressure range of 50 - 200 bar.

Dual Pump & Injection System
Reagents can be introduced via single, dual pump control or via syringe injection.

Outlet Tube
The reaction mixture or product elutes into a collection vessel at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. The short reaction times allow analytical samples to be taken in minutes for reaction optimisation.

Advantages
Speed

• High temperatures and pressures mean that many reactions progress in minutes.
• Temperature, pressure, and flow rate can be changed on the fly for rapid optimisation.

Safe

• The flow nature of the X-Cube Flash™ means only small volumes of reaction mixture are heated at any one time, so there is less risk involved.
• Precise control.
• Temperature sensors along the coil result in precise reaction temperature control.
• Using a dual pump control, different ratios of reagents can be mixed and reacted in the system.

Convenient

• The system has a small footprint minimizing the space taken up in the fume hood.